Computer Tricks and Secrets

Short answer: The free WordPress software comes from the community-run WordPress.org project, but the money is made by a separate company, Automattic, mainly through its WordPress.com hosting, paid plans, and a family of premium services like Jetpack, WooCommerce, and Akismet. The free software is the funnel, the hosted services are the business. This is the question that confuses almost everyone. If I can download WordPress for free and use it however I like, who is getting paid? The answer starts with understanding that "WordPress" is really two different things. What is the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com? This distinction is the whole key, so let me be precise. WordPress.org WordPress.com What it is The free, open-source software A hosted, commercial service Who runs it The WordPress open-source project Automattic, a for-profit company You provide Your own web hosting Nothing, they host it for you How it earns Donations, not a business Paid plans ...